Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue empowered local schools with additional options to serve healthy and appealing meals. A final rule on school meal flexibilities, to be published later this month in the Federal Register, increases local flexibility in implementing
school nutrition standards for milk, whole grains, and sodium. Secretary Perdue said the final rule will deliver on the USDA's promise to develop forward-thinking strategies that ensure school nutrition standards are both healthful and practical.

"USDA is committed to serving meals to kids that are both nutritious and satisfying," said Perdue. "These common-sense flexibilities provide excellent customer service to our local school nutrition professionals, while giving children the world-class food service
they deserve."

The actions will benefit nearly 99,000 schools and institutions that feed 30 million children annually through USDA's school meal programs. This rule is part of USDA's Regulatory Reform Agenda, developed in response to President Trump's Executive Order to
eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens.